This invention is a plumbing tool, which cleans and prepares the interior and exterior of pipes and fittings for bonding. More specifically, it accomplishes the dual task of cleaning a pipe or fitting's interior and exterior without forcing a cessation in labor or requiring the substitution of one or more tools.
In liquid transport systems, the likes of which are found within most buildings, it is necessary to connect piping to fittings. Before the two may be coupled, it is essential to first utilize an abrasive material to clean and lightly texturize the surfaces to ensure a tight and secure bond. This must be done when installing new plumbing and when making repairs to existing plumbing.
In the past, it has been customary to manually employ handheld wire brushes to clean and prepare the interiors of pipes and fittings, as well as emery cloth or specially designed wire brushes to prepare the exteriors. Using these materials, one has to laboriously clean the insides and outsides of both ends of each copper fitting and pipe segment by hand, a task which is proven to be inconvenient and time consuming.
Efforts have been made to produce tools to perform this task. Prior art includes U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,698,048B1; 5,269,104; and 6,106,370. However, these previous inventions are complicated and do not complete the task most efficiently. Two of these require the purchase of an entirely new motorized tool and the third attaches to a drill, but, as with the others, parts must be interchanged to perform its various functions. The previous devices achieve their respective purposes, but this invention incorporates a simpler design to consolidate two tools into one.